Girls basketball: Franklin blasts Toms River North to claim second straight Group IV championship

TOMS RIVER – Although the NJSIAA group finals are played at a neutral site, for the Franklin High School girls basketball team, the Group IV final felt like anything but a road game.

RWJBarnabas Health Arena is the home court of Sunday’s opponent, Toms River North, a team making its first Group IV finals appearance since 2000, but that didn’t stop the Warriors from making themselves right at home.

Franklin, which was the No. 6 seed in North 2 Group IV, hasn’t played a home game since the first round of the state tournament, but Sunday’s result was exactly the same as its been for the past two weeks, a completely dominant victory, this one carrying the Warriors to their second straight Group IV championship.

Junior Diamond Miller tallied 27 points and eight rebounds, and senior Camille Gray and sophomore Kennady Schenck each added 12 points, as defending Tournament of Champions champ Franklin claimed its third group title in the past four seasons with a 70-30 victory over the Mariners to return to the TOC.

“Definitely, from the first shot, we felt right at home,” said Miller, whose team will open its TOC title defense in Wednesday’s quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed, facing Group III champion Old Tappan here at 5:30 p.m. “We played really good defense and we were hitting shots and it felt like we were on our home court, to be honest. It was that easy.”

“We felt very comfortable,” Gray said. “It felt almost like a home game for us.”

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Of course, this was the not the first time Franklin played on the Toms River court, which hosts both the group finals and the first two rounds of the Tournament of Champions, so there was some familiarity and a comfort level.

“I think it helped us tremendously, especially with this being a home game for them,” Franklin coach Audrey Taylor said. “We were confident coming in knowing we’ve been here and comfortable with the court. But more than anything, what we talked about is remembering what got us here. We’ve played in Brooklyn, we’ve played all over the place, and no matter where we step on the court, we’ve got to remember what got us here and keep pushing.”

Franklin pulled away immediately, starting the game on a 12-2 run, leading 19-10 after one quarter, as Miller tallied 11 of her 20 first-half points. It was more of the same in the second period, as an Amanda Johnson free throw began the quarter for Toms River North, before the Warriors embarked on a 21-0 run, snapped by a Jenna Paul foul shot with 2:40 remaining in the half. The defense, meanwhile was on point, forcing 10 first-half Mariners turnovers and Franklin took a 44-14 lead into the intermission.

The Warriors, who shot 61 percent from the field in the opening half, slowed things down in the second, but the results remained the same. Franklin began the third period on a 13-0 run to open a 57-14 advantage, and led 64-18 headed to the final quarter.

Franklin led by as many as 50 in the fourth quarter – 68-18 with 6:15 remaining – before the Warriors began to clear the bench, which closed it out.

“It feels great just to score right away. It definitely knocks the nerves off for everybody,” Gray said. “(Coach) told us to let everybody touch the ball because it knocks the nerves off when you get scoring and get rolling.”

“I think we’re clicking at the highest level right now, which we need to be,” said Taylor, whose club also got 11 points from Keona Schenck. “The best thing about it is that the confidence is coming from everybody. It’s not just one player, so they can’t guard you a certain way and I think that makes the difference. Trying to set a game plan against us, you’ve got to guard everybody. So the fact they’re sharing the ball the way they are, I couldn’t be more thrilled the way they’re playing right now.”

Considering the way Franklin’s season began, thrilling might be an understatement in describing its current roll. The Warriors began 1-4, playing a brutal schedule that included Rutgers Prep, St. John Vianney and Rumson-Fair Haven, as well as out-of-state power Long Island Lutheran, before finding a rhythm, taking that to a new level in the postseason, claiming the Somerset County title along the way. Now, with the finish line in site, Franklin is giving itself a little added motivation as it vies for back-to-back TOC crowns.

“We’re going to do it for our seniors,” Miller said. “We don’t want to lose. That’s our mentality, we never want to lose, so we’re going to give all we can on the court. Plus we had a rocky start (to our season) so to end it with a TOC championship would be really good.”

Simeon Pincus can be reached at CNGirlsHoops@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN

FRANKLIN (23-7) 19-25-20-6 -- 70
TOMS RIVER NORTH (28-4) 10-4-4-12 -- 30
INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
FRK – Miller 8-(3)-2-27, Jackson 2-0-4, Gray 6-0-12, Keona Schenck 2-(2)-1-11, Ken. Schenck 3-(2)-0-12, Kiersten McCloud 1-0-2, Kiara McCloud 1-0-2. Totals: 23-(7)-3-70
TRN – Bisogno 2-0-4, A. Johnson 2-3-7, Paul 2-(1)-3-10, Spence 1-(1)-2-7, Hund 1-0-2. Totals: 8-(2)-8-30.